Software helps track child pornographers

Page Tools

Microsoft and Canadian authorities on Thursday launched a
software program designed to help police worldwide hunt down child
porn traffickers by enabling authorities for the first time to link
information such as credit card purchases, internet chat room
messages and arrest records.

Microsoft said the Child Exploitation Tracking System was the
first software program designed specifically to capture
pornographers who prey on children and sell their images via the
internet.

It will allow police departments worldwide to share and track
previously unlinked information on investigations and suspects.

David Hemler, president of Microsoft Canada, said internet
pornographers were computer savvy, so the program would put law
enforcement officials "on the same level as the bad guys."

The open source program was developed by Microsoft Canada, the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Toronto police, with the help of
the Department of Homeland Security, Scotland Yard and
Interpol.

The FBI has seen a 2000 percent increase in the number of child
pornography images on the internet since 1996 and Canadian police
estimate that more than 100,000 websites contain images of child
sexual abuse.

Experts say at least 95 percent of victims are abused by someone
they know, either a relative or neighbour.

Hemler said Microsoft committed $US4 million toward the program
and that the software would be available to any police force at no
cost.

John P. Clark, deputy assistant secretary of immigration and
customs enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security, said
the program released on Thursday was the first dedicated to child
protection.

"We were lending our expertise because we have established
tracking systems," said Clark, who attended the launch.

The initiative was the result of a January 2003 email sent to
Bill Gates by a member of the Toronto Police Service
sex-crimes unit, asking for help in battling child pornography.

Gates called on Microsoft Canada to develop software that would
aid police officials.

Detective Sergeant Paul Gillespie, who sent the initial email,
said several suspected pornographers had already been arrested
during tests of the new system. One man was arrested in Toronto
last week, after a tip plugged into CETS linked with two previous
reports on the suspect.

"When we pulled up all three, it gave us the ability to
physically identify somebody and grounds for an arrest warrant,"
Gillespie said.

Gillespie said another suspect was arrested several months ago,
after information from the FBI, Scotland Yard and Homeland
Security, investigating child pornography chat rooms and credit
card purchases of the images, were programmed into the system.

"It identified a link between one of those people on the credit
card list with one very small consistency in this chat room in the
UK," Gillespie said. "Both pieces of the puzzles were put together
and out of that we were able to identify somebody; an abuser of a
young child taking pictures with his own camera."